A Longitudinal Study of Vocational Maturity and Ethnic Identity Development

This study examines longitudinally the development of vocational maturity and ethnic identity in a majority and a minority group of 641 students in the Province of Québec, Canada. Ethnic identity and four components of vocational maturity were assessed in four cohorts at three times of measurement. Results show clearly different developmental trends in both ethnic identity and in vocational maturity for majority and minority groups: The minority group showed a linear increase in ethnic identity over time, while the majority group showed a decrease starting with the second time of measurement; vocational maturity components showed a more complex pattern of changes but demonstrated that minority participants matured significantly earlier than those from the majority group. There was a positive relationship between ethnic identity and vocational maturity for both groups.     

Perceived Similarity,Personality, and Attraction to Large Organizations1

Two separate studies tested the hypothesis that perceived similarity to members of an organization was related to attraction to that organization, but only for relationship-motivated persons, and not for task-motivated persons. Support for the hypothesis was obtained in both studies using Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scores as measures of relationship and task motivation. For high-LPC persons only, perceived similarity of personality (study 1) and perceived similarity of values and attitudes (study 2) were related to attraction to the organization. The report seeks to integrate the literature on interpersonal attraction and on job satisfaction and suggests practical implications of the findings.     

Who Speaks for the Community?1

A survey in an unincorporated urban area compared the major community problems of concern to two groups: (a) a randomly selected sample of listed telephone subscribers, and (b) community leaders identified through nominations and reputational methods. In addition to asking about the major problems of the community, the randomly selected telephone subscribers were also asked to indicate for each problem (a) the persons or organizations to whom they looked for information and advice, (b) whom they considered qualified to speak for them, and (c) whom they expected to act in their behalf in the solution of these problems. The results of these surveys showed a large divergence of concerns expressed by the random samples and the reputed community leaders, as well as a striking number of respondents who felt themselves to be without spokesmen.     

A matching-to-sample procedure for the study of visual perception and concept formation in infrahumans: A test in the pigeon

An apparatus suitable for conducting simultaneous or delayed matching-to-sample experiments with as many as eight comparison stimuli is described. Data are presented which indicate that pigeons are capable of performing such a task. It is concluded that the simultaneous matching-to-sample procedure with more than two comparison stimuli is an efficient means of obtaining information about discrimination capacity and that this procedure may be suitable for studying visual perception in infrahuman Ss.